Caloric restriction limits fatty acid oxidation and improves cardiac function in heart failure associated with obesity

Background: The general consensus is that heart switches from fatty acid oxidation (FAO) to glucose metabolism in heart failure. However, what happens to FAO in heart failure associated with obesity, a condition known to increase cardiac FAO, is not known. We therefore, investigated what effect obesity has on cardiac FAO and function in the failing heart, and what effect weight loss due to caloric restriction has on these parameters.